Tournament Play
A. Deck Registration Tier 1 events do not require a Deck List to be submitted. Tournament Organizers may require Deck Lists to be submitted for Tier 1 events, but only if it is announced before the start of the event. Tier 2 events require Deck Lists. Deck Lists must be legibly written or printed from a computer. A copy of the KDE Deck List can be found here: http://www.yugioh-card.com/en/events/forms/KDE_DeckList.pdf (North America) http://www.yugioh-card.com/lat-am/events/forms/KDE_DeckList2012-LatAm.pdf (Latin America) When writing the cards on the Deck List, shorthand is acceptable, but only if all cards are abbreviated in the same method. Abbreviations that could be interpreted as more than one card cannot be used, and will result in the player receiving penalties such as a Game Loss. It is ultimately the responsibility of the Duelist to accurately and completely communicate the contents of their Deck. Once a Deck List has been submitted, it may not be altered or changed. B. Determining Who Goes First At the beginning of the Match, Duelists should use a random method to decide who chooses to go first. Duelists may roll a die, play Rock-Paper-Scissors, etc. However, the method must be agreed upon and clearly understood by all Duelists beforehand. When a deciding Duelist has been selected, they will choose who goes first in Duel 1 of the match. This decision must be made before Duel play has begun, and before either Duelist has drawn any cards. If the deciding Duelist draws cards before stating who will go first, they must automatically go first. Drawing cards before deciding who will go first may result in a Warning penalty. During the second or third Duel in a Match, the losing Duelist will determine who may go first. In the case a Duel ending in a Draw, another random method should be employed to choose the deciding Duelist. If the outcome of a Duel was determined by a Game Loss penalty, the Duelist assigned the penalty (the losing Duelist) may still determine who will go first for the next Duel. C. Note Taking Note taking is not allowed in Sanctioned Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournaments, with the following exceptions: Duelists should keep a written record of both Duelists’ Life Points for each Duel. Tracking of mandatory effect reminders. Tracking of turns and turn counters. These notes should be taken quickly, so as not to disrupt the flow of the Duel. Notes are considered to be public knowledge and must be provided to opponent or tournament official upon request. Duelists may not use outside notes during a Match, which includes in between Games of a Match. Duelists may consult a copy of their Deck List between Matches (not in between Games of a Match), to ensure they have restored their Main Deck, Side Deck, and Extra Deck to the proper condition. D. Public Knowledge The following items are considered to be public knowledge, unless a card effect says otherwise. Duelists must answer questions involving the following topics truthfully. Failure to do so may result in a Disqualification penalty. The number of cards in a Duelist’s hand The number of cards in a Duelist’s Deck (this includes the Main Deck, Side Deck, and Extra Deck) The number and names of the cards in a Duelist’s Graveyard and face-up banished cards Both Duelist’s current Life Point totals Any notes taken by either Duelist during a Duel Information printed on a specific, named card. E. Card/Hand Verification While resolving an effect that asks for a card in the hand to be verified - if all legal copies of that specific card can be accounted for in all Public Knowledge areas, the hand does not need to be revealed; unless an effect specifically allows the Duelist to do so. In the case where an effect requires the hand to be revealed, the opponent may read every card in the hand. This verification must be done in a timely manner so as to not hold up the current Duel. Cards that are searched for via an effect that requires specific verification, such as card type or statistic, must be shown to the opponent in their entirety. The opponent may read the retrieved card. This verification must be done in a timely manner as to not hold up the current Duel. F. Appeals If a Duelist disagrees with a judge’s ruling, whether it is a Rulings or Policy issue, they have the right to appeal that ruling to the Head Judge of the tournament. The Head Judge’s ruling is final and cannot be appealed. A Duelist may not appeal a floor judge’s ruling until the floor judge has completed issuing the ruling. Failure to do so may result in Unsporting Conduct penalties. G. End of Match Procedures – Swiss Rounds – Tier 2 Events Sometimes a Match will not be finished when the time ends for a round. If this happens, the Duelist should note whose turn it is when time is called, and raise their hands for a judge. The judge should be notified that the Match is ongoing and whose turn it is. The judge may or may not stay to supervise the End of Match procedure, but should ensure that both Duelists understand the following procedure. Please follow these instructions when proceeding to End of Match procedures during the Swiss portion of the tournament: Continue until the end of the current turn. If the Duel is not over at the end of the turn, go to “Extra Turns.” Extra Turns = Conduct (5) additional turns starting from the opponent’s turn. If a win condition (a Duelist’s Life Points is reduced to 0 or an instant win condition such as the effect of Exodia the Forbidden One or Final Countdown) occurs within these (5) turns, the Duel ends as normal. If a win condition does NOT occur within these (5) turns, the Duelist who has higher Life Points after the “Extra Turns” (5 turns) wins. If both Duelists’ Life Points are the same after the “Extra Turns” are completed, the Duel is considered a Draw. After the Duel is concluded, the Duelist who has won the most Duels is declared the winner of the Match. If both Duelists now have the same number of Duel wins, the Match is a Draw. If both Duelists won one Duel and the third Duel ends in a Draw, the Match is considered to be a Draw. If time is called before a Duel begins (during Side Decking, before drawing their opening Hands), and both Duelists have won the same number of Duels, the Match is considered to be a Draw. If time is called before a Duel begins (during Side Decking, before drawing their opening Hands), and one Duelist has won more Duels, the Duelist with more wins is declared the winner of the Match. Duelists may not choose to intentionally end a match in a Draw. Intentionally ending a Match in a Draw, or stalling to have a Match end in a Draw, is against tournament policy and could result in a Disqualification. Match Draws may only occur during the Swiss portion of a tournament and only during End of Match procedures. Duelists may not intentionally end a Match in a Draw. Intentionally ending a Match in a Draw, or stalling to have a Match end in a Draw, is against tournament policy and could result in a Disqualification. H. End of Match Procedure – Swiss Rounds – Tier 1 Events and Single-Elimination During Single-Elimination rounds, if Duelists have not completed their matches during their allotted time limit, proceed to End of Match procedures. Please follow these instructions when proceeding to End of Match procedures during the Single-Elimination portion of the tournament: Continue until the end of the current turn. If the Duel did not end at the end of the turn, go to “Extra Turns.” Extra Turns = Conduct (3) additional turns starting from the opponent’s turn. If a win condition (a Duelist is reduced to 0 Life Points or an instant win condition such as the effect of Exodia the Forbidden One or Final Countdown) occurs within these (3) turns, the Duel ends as normal. If a win condition does NOT occur within these (3) turns, the Duelist who has higher Life Points after the “Extra Turns” wins. If both Duelists’ Life Points are the same after the “Extra Turns” are completed, then play will continue on a turn-by-turn basis, with the Duelist with the most Life Points at the end of a turn being declared the winner of that Game. Life Points are checked after the turn has completed but before the opponent’s turn begins. If a Duelist’s Life Points reach 0 or if a win condition occurs during the turn, normal game play rules apply. Once the winner has been determined for the current Duel, the Match winner is determined. If a Duelist has more wins than his or her opponent, that Duelist wins the Match. If both Duelists have the same number of Duel wins, or if time is called in between Games of a Match, they will begin a new Duel with specific guidelines. Neither Duelist may use his or her Side Deck. Duelists must use a random method (die roll, coin flip, etc.) to determine who will go first. The Duel will continue for a total of (4) turns, two turns for each Duelist, unless a Duelist manages to win the Duel before the (4) turns are up. Once the four turns are completed, Life Point totals are compared and the Duelist with the highest Life Point total wins the Match. If both Duelists’ Life Points are the same after the (4) turns are completed, then play will continue on a turn-by-turn basis, with the Duelist with the most Life Points at the end of a turn being declared the winner of that Game. Please use the same criteria listed above (Step 5). Draws cannot occur during Single-Elimination. There must always be a winner. Click here to return to Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME Tournament Policy.